Tag: iced coffee mom

Jake, Everly and I have lots of time planned in Florida for fall and winter, so Jake gave me the best anniversary gift ever – a Disney annual pass! Everly gets in free to the parks until her third birthday, so I plan to take her quite a bit when we’re in town. I have another friend with an annual pass, so we planned a trip and had the best time ever!

Taking a baby anywhere involves so much planning and I didn’t know what to expect. Everly never naps in her stroller or in the car, so I was nervous to say the least. I compiled a list of things that I packed (and really needed) and a list of fun things to do at Magic Kingdom. Of the four Walt Disney world parks, Magic Kingdom is definitely the best for children. There are plenty of rides that don’t require a height limit, character meet and greets and parades.

Planning/Packing for Disney was a process!

Things I brought:

Water bottles, snacks and sunscreen. You can bring food and water into the parks in a soft sided cooler (which is awesome!)

A battery operated fan that clipped on her stroller along with a sun shade, so she could have darkness for naps

Plenty of wipes, diapers and hand sanitizer

Our Uppababy Vista stroller and LilleBaby carrier

Cute matching Disney T-shirt’s that I ordered on Etsy

My Disney annual pass and Magic Band

I also downloaded the Disney World app ahead of time. We planned our fast passes for a few rides and meet and greets. You are also able to get a child swap pass, so another adult in your party can stay with the baby while you ride.

Our day:

As I mentioned before, Magic Kingdom is the best park for children. Unfortunately, it is also the most difficult to get to. We didn’t stay on Disney property, so we parked in the lot around 9:30am and then took the bus to the gates. The line for the monorail and ferry were SOO long, so we opted for the bus. It only took a few minutes to hop on and was about a 10 minute drive – SO much easier than expected. Highly recommend the bus during peak times!

We had three fast passes planned ahead of time in the Disney app. The first was for the Meet and Greet with Ariel in her Grotto – it was so cute for Everly to meet her first Disney princess.

At this point we were long overdue for Everly’s first nap, so I broke off from the group and got her to sleep in the stroller with a fan and mesh black out shade.

After Everly woke up we took her on the Winnie the Pooh ride. This is another ride that doesn’t have a height restriction and is perfect for all ages. There is a point in the ride that is dark and Everly was scared and started to cry, but at the end the sun comes out and she was back to her happy self. She loved the part with Tigger bouncing around.

Everly’s favorite ride was “It’s a Small World”. That was my favorite when I was a kid too! It’s a great ride for kids of all ages with music and lots to look at. She sat still the whole time and pointed at all of the dolls dancing.

We were also able to meet Rapunzel, Princess Tiana, and Snow White. She loved getting pictures with each of them 🙂

By 3pm we were all wiped out, so we headed back to the AirBnb! BTW, we rented a super cute 2 bedroom AirBnB in Winter Park, FL (about 25 minutes away from Disney). It was perfect with a small pool and hot tub… here’s the link if you’re interested: Apt E -Modern Elegance in the Heart of Winter Park.

We have a few Disney trips planned coming up… what’s your favorite thing to do with kids at Disney World?

Welllllll… flying with a toddler is always an adventure. Especially one that is always on the go and loves to get into everything. When Everly was born, I knew that we would be flying a lot. My family lives outside of Orlando and it’s the perfect place to escape the Boston winters. Jake and I typically fly Jetblue.. you can’t beat the tv’s, free wifi, snacks, and drinks. When I was booking this trip with Everly the price of Spirit Airlines vs. a Jetblue flight was too good to pass up. I was able to buy 2 tickets (one for Everly and I – even though she could have flown as a lap infant for free), 2 seats, and 2 bags for cheaper than 1 Jetblue ticket.

I’m sure you’ve seen the ridiculously low Spirit Airlines prices and wondered how they do it. Well, they don’t let you select your seat or bring a carry on bag. They don’t provide complimentary beverage or snack service and they don’t have any inflight entertainment. The rows of seats are very close together too. That’s why tickets are SO cheap! If you don’t care about any of those things then Spirit Airlines is perfect for you!

The Spirit Airlines terminal at Logan Airport in Boston has two gates… it’s pretty pathetic, but there are some restaurants in the area including a Dunkin Donut and Starbucks and they even have a small play area for kids while you wait to board the flight. I had our stroller to gate check, her car seat to bring on the plane, a diaper bag, and my purse. The stroller was gate checked and we boarded with no delay. Getting the car seat into the tight seats was a challenge and those flight attendants are not there to help you. The rows of seats are so close together so Everly’s car seat had zero recline and I could tell she was uncomfortable (but safe). Our flight took off on time! It was basically a miracle because I’ve heard all of the horror stories.

Everly didn’t sleep for one second and she whined and cried A LOT. It was torture for everyone around us, but I’m used to it by now haha! I had lots of snacks and toys for her to play with including her tablet, legos, magnetiles, a coloring book, stickers and books… ok I definitely over packed, but we survived.

Any of this could have happened on Delta or JetBlue, so overall, Spirit wasn’t so bad. I’d probably fly them again if I purchased a seat for Everly. I can’t believe I just said that, but yes, it was worth the savings!

Hi! I’m a huge fan of monograms, personalizations, and custom made items for baby showers/newborn gifts. They make for such special gifts that families will keep for a lifetime. I’ve come up with a great list of vendors on Etsy and thought that I would share. If you know anyone that is expecting, keep these shops in mind! Now if more of my friends would start having babies that would be great! 🙂

Milestone Blankets

I ordered a milestone blanket for Everly when she was a few days old. I was so excited to get a picture taken monthly on the same blanket to see how she was growing. By month 7 she didn’t want to lay on the blanket… she was more proud of sitting up on her own. We’ve made it work though! I ordered from a small Etsy shop, LittlePeonyCo. The shop has hundred of items available for personalization including blankets and beach towels. The blanket I ordered for Everly has a floral wreath design and comes in a super soft mink material. The blankets come in different sizes too – I’d recommend ordering a larger size (50x60in).

Custom Lovey’s

A lovey might not seem like an immediate necessity, but they are so adorable and great for cuddling. Now that Everly is older she brings her lovey everywhere with her. When she was a couple of months old I was buying little crinkly blankets from an online Etsy shop, DwellDarling. This shop has hundreds of blankets, loveys, and crinkle pages available to be customized with a name or monogram. The prints are so adorable and come with a soft fur backside! They have a great Instagram page that highlights all of the new prints too!

Announcement Pillows

Another option for monthly milestone photos would be to take a picture of the babe propped up in a chair next to an announcement pillow. I ordered one for Everly’s room from Empowering Decor on Etsy. It has her name, birthdate, weight, and height printed with a beautiful design.

Custom Clothing

There’s nothing cuter than a baby in a monogrammed onesie. Seriously, a perfect photo opp. I like to order outfits for holidays that have Everly’s name or initials on them. I ordered from an Etsy shop, LaineyKayDesigns, but there are lots of options available.

Decor Pieces

My go to spot is Pottery Barn. You can find any and every baby item there and they add personalization to 90% of their items for a small fee. Everything from furniture pieces, Boppy covers, lunch boxes, and towels… the list could go on forever. Sign up for their emails to know when the sales are going on too!